There is a 3* gap between the AP3 and AP2 7 irons. The new AP3s are "distance irons" in a player's iron look, and are numbered more like most Taylormade and Callaway irons. Quite strong-lofted relative to the number on the bottom, which TM has been doing for years to sell "longer" irons. The AP2s are more traditionally lofted. So the AP3 7i is much more like an AP2 6i. I'm going to play with both 7 irons for now, to see what the best set up is. By the time they get delivered to me it will be just about out of posting season, so it won't really matter that I carry 15 clubs. I'll get it sorted out by next posting season, or well before.

So much will depend on the distance gap I actually see on the course between the two 7 irons. Trackman numbers mean nothing to me, but did indicate I hit the AP3 7i longer. But not THAT much longer. I may end up bending my AP2 7i weaker by a degree or two, not play my AP2 8i and bend my AP2 9i a degree strong. Or, just strengthen my 8i 2 degrees. I hit my 9i well enough that I don't think I would have to strengthen it at all. Typically, the shorter the club, the better and more consistently you will hit it. I'm not too worried there will be a big gap once I get to know these new ones.

So today I bought two pairs of golf pants at Dick's Sporting Goods, each listed for $69.99, which after specials, free shipping and coupons, ended up costing me a total of $19.98 plus tax, for both pairs! That's less than 10 bucks a pair (not that any of you are that dumb that you need me to do that math for you).

Long story I won't bore you all with, but it was worth the 45 minutes I spent on the phone with them trying to straighten out the online order I placed earlier, which somehow got screwed up and lost when I hit "Submit". I complained about all the time it cost me to make this purchase and suggested (nicely) that they should give me another $20 Rewards Certificate for my trouble...and they agreed. Once I applied that, plus the $20 certificate I already had, the special sale pricing and free shipping, my card was charged practically nothing. I don't win very often. I did this time. Of course I am assuming the pants will show up later this week....and actually fit.

Won a free Odyssey putter the other day in a captains choice. There was a par three with a recreational golf cart (with the back seats that face backwards instead of where golf clubs go) as the prize for a hole in one. I hit a pure shot to a foot and half that sniffed right past the hole. The putter was for the closest to the pin.

My three new AP3-718s just arrived from Titleist yesterday. Gonna give them a trial run today. Only 50 degrees forecast for the high, so not expecting great distance. But if all reviews I have read are true, I should see distances of about what I was getting with my present irons in 80 degree temps.

I am not really looking forward to the cold, but at least the new AP3s give me an incentive to go play today. Unfortunately, as you may have read in the Autumn Support Group thread, I am forced to play with a driver shaft which I don't think is a good match for the 917D2 head (as a result of a stupid move I made to break the right shaft), but I did put a new grip on it to help me feel better about it today. We shall see.

Picked up a dozen of the just released 2017 Titleist DT TrueSofts. It was cold this week and I could certainly tell my ProVs were not going as far off any club. They also felt really hard. So, it seems like a good time to put some TruSofts into play. I'll put the ProVs back in when I am in Florida later this month. But if this winter here in Maryland is anywhere close to what it was like last winter, I expect to play right through, in 35-50 degree temps. So the TruSofts will feel better and hopefully fly a yard or two longer. I got them in yellow, specifically for the winter washed-out and low-light conditions, which always seems to make finding white golf balls that much more difficult.

Speaking of not losing balls, last winter, with the rough dormant and all the cabbage/fescue cut down, I didn't lose a ball from November until sometime into March. It has to be some sort of record, considering how many winter rounds I played. (I did, however, lose a few in Florida.) I do remember hitting one ball into....no, make that...onto a pond. But it was frozen and the ball bounced and slid all the way to the edge where I was able to grab it and keep my no-lost-balls record intact.

Forgot to mention, when I was in Florida last week, I picked up a dozen of the brand new, Titleist AVX tour balls, which are only being released initially in limited locations around the country. Florida, California and Arizona are the first test markets. I had heard and read so much about them on the Titleist site. I was extremely curious to try them out. So I plunked down over $50 with the tax and purchased a dozen. They are available in white and yellow. It's Titleist's only urethane-covered Tour ball available in yellow. The white ones were sold out so I got yellow. So that's the WTF did you buy today? part of the posting, but here's my short story to go along with it....

I picked them up the day before I left Florida, so didn't get a chance to try them there. After hitting the ball well on the range before my first round back in Maryland, and feeling like I had a good swing working, I decided I would try out the AVX that first round back.

At over 4 bucks a ball, I thought I should wait to try one until after I finished the first two holes, both of which have forced carries off the tee. I did not want to lose one right out of the gate. On the third, I tried one off the tee. It felt harder than a ProV1 and different from a ProV1x, but similarly hard. I hit it well, into the middle of the fairway and got good distance. My approach shot had another forced carry to the green, so to be safe, I dropped down an older ball and used it for my approach, just in case. Made it across fine and finished the hole with the old ball. However...

On the 4th hole hit the AVX again off the tee and felt the same hardness and got very good distance (for me). Now I had a clear shot at the green for my 150 yard approach, uphill to a back pin. With the cold and wind (10 mph), it was playing over 165 yards. I hit my 6i feeling I could not go too long in those conditions with it. Made solid contact, but with the right to left wind, a slight tug and some draw spin, it went 5 yards, then 10 yards, then probably nearly 15 yards left as it flew. I saw it land on, and then disappear over a large mogul alongside the green, but unfortunately I never saw it again, ever.

There was plenty of room on the other side of that mogul (which by the way, was pin high, so I did hit it further than expected.) I looked everywhere. Should have been an easy pitchip onto the green and up to the pin from where it should be sitting, but it wasn't there. There was no one behind me so I looked for about 15 minutes to no avail. Son of a bitch! Hit the AVX 3 times and lost it!

I used another for 17 holes on Friday until I hit a 185 yard tee shot on the par 3 17th over the green and into crap. Again, did not expect to hit it that far, so I guess maybe the AVX has some kick in it. Actually hit the ball good distance that whole round in cooler temps and shot 79 with 3 doubles, two of which were a result of going longer than expected. So yeah, I think I like the ball. Just not the price.

Doug if you ever want to start a Titleist, or a FJ, or an "Ask an FJ Rep Anything" type of thread, feel free. You have cart blanch. Could prove interesting and informative. For instance, I was curious: do you use an FJ or a Titleist glove?

legitimatebeef wrote:Doug if you ever want to start a Titleist, or a FJ, or an "Ask an FJ Rep Anything" type of thread, feel free. You have cart blanch. Could prove interesting and informative. For instance, I was curious: do you use an FJ or a Titleist glove?

I use both FJ and Titleist gloves when I wear a glove, but don't always wear a glove. I go through periods where I play better without a glove so will go glove-less until I start to see a slump, and then wear a glove to see if it helps. (I think that's more superstitious than anything.) But, my hands crack badly in the colder weather and I often have to use a lot of tape and band-aids to keep them together. So in dry, colder weather, I will wear a glove more often. I think overall I feel most comfortable playing without a glove. However, when I do wear a glove, my favorite is the FJ Pure Touch. Try one on someday if you can find them. (Best to look for them in a ProShop rather than a big box golf store.) You'll see why they are my favorite. Amazingly comfortable. My second choice is a Titleist Players glove. Both have exquisite feel. Both thin with very soft leather. I will wear either of them on my left hand. Sometimes I have to wear one on my right hand as well (think Tommy "Two-Gloves" Gainey) when my hands are cracked really bad. I won't spend the money on a 30 dollar Pure Touch or even a 24 dollar Players glove for my right hand, so I usually wear a 15 dollar FJ Weathersof or SofJoy, more for protection than feel. I always have one stashed in my bag in case any of my right hand-cracks split wide open. I also usually have a new Pure-Touch LH glove on board as well.

As far as a Titleist or FJ threads, I'd be afraid no one would respond. With such a small group here, everyone pretty much knows I'm a Titleist/FJ guy and I am always open to discussing products of either. I would hope if anyone has questions or comments regarding the brands, they would seek me out, but frankly, I don't like to push my views too hard otherwise. I honestly believe in both brands, for many reasons, but I realize there are some other great brands out there as well, and other than TM, don't like to poo poo any of them, unless they deserve it. (Even TM makes good stuff, just don't like the company for other reasons.) Thanks for the offer though, Beef.

I got tired of using a cheap rubber vise insert to change my grips, which is falling apart anyway after too much usage, so I finally bit the bullet and ordered a complete GolfWorks gripping station with properly designed quick-clamp for any size shaft. It's time to regrip not only mine again, but my wife's as well, before we head to FL where she might play once. When we were there in Nov. she went to the range twice and played once. Her grips were totally shot. Literally falling apart. Not from playing too much, but from sitting out in the garage all summer and baking, not being used in a year.

I bought her a new set of pretty pink Winn grips for Christmas (among other things she actually wanted), which she seemed excited about (though more likely due to the pink color than the better quality Winn grip itself.)

So I'm in a southern state today but the weather is cold (40's) with a half an inch of rain (after multiple days of rain the past few weeks). So I went to the local golf store. Simply put, I needed some golf. I was basically looking at putters as I haven't been happy with the putter in my travel bag. But I didn't see anything that met my eye so I didn't buy anything.

Rain stopped so I went to a local course. After 1/2 inch of rain, the course was soaked, but I got 9 holes in. Then decided to go back to the golf store.

Bought a new grip for the putter - been pulling things left and thought a bigger grip would help. Then I realized the putter cover was in tatters, so I bought a putter cover. Then I also realized my travel bag only has one golf towel so I bought another one. Finally as I was checking out I saw some Titleist wedges that were 90 day returns for $99 - found a grind that would work well in the travel bag and now I'm $200 dollars in the hole .

I got tired of using a cheap rubber vise insert to change my grips, which is falling apart anyway after too much usage, so I finally bit the bullet and ordered a complete GolfWorks gripping station with properly designed quick-clamp for any size shaft. It's time to regrip not only mine again, but my wife's as well, before we head to FL where she might play once. When we were there in Nov. she went to the range twice and played once. Her grips were totally shot. Literally falling apart. Not from playing too much, but from sitting out in the garage all summer and baking, not being used in a year.

I bought her a new set of pretty pink Winn grips for Christmas (among other things she actually wanted), which she seemed excited about (though more likely due to the pink color than the better quality Winn grip itself.)

Sorry, didn't notice this when it was posted. Are you really still using tape and solvent? I know from the grip thread that you had some difficulty getting the needle to stay in the grip. It's just a matter of obtaining the right needle. I happened to have lucked into getting one with the last bike pump I bought. It came with two needles, the thin one for basketballs and footballs, and the broader, serrated plastic one for rafts and other small inflatables (I think). Happens to work like a dream on golf grips. My whole view on grips has completely changed. I've had no inkling of any slippage issues whatsoever in 3+ years of this. It boggles my mind that people would still use tape and solvent when a superior method has been discovered.

Listen, I'm not going to call you names or say why you are stupid for not going tapeless. That wouldn't be very Christian. What I will talk about is the JOY of tapeless. Everything is better from removal to application and everything in between. It's not just the end of tape and solvent it's also the end of knives and cutting and dirty little rubber shavings, pulling and struggling with old adhesive. I need to regrip very soon and you know what, I am looking forward to doing the job! I even regripped two sets of bike handlebar grips with air! In other words, life is awesome now.

It's not too late. You can probably go tapeless and still use the new gripping station.

I know it works with air. I have done it. But, sometimes I like doing things the way I am most comfortable. I have both build-tape and double-sided and have no problems building with either. Besides, my compressor is noisy. I like the tradition and quietness of doing things the old traditional way. Yes, I'm old. Of course, cleaning the old tape takes a lot more effort, but I don't mind. I have a grip tape removal tool which works pretty well. I use pure mineral spirits rather than grip solvent. It's much faster.

Sometimes if I need to take a perfectly good grip off and want to save it to put back on after I do whatever I need to do (like cutting down or adding length to a shaft), I'll use air if necessary, but otherwise, I'm good.

I think some style grips are better suited to the air compressor route than others. I seem to have more trouble with my Golf Pride MCC grips using air than I do with, say, a Tour Velvet, which is all the same from top to bottom. And since I change over 60-70 of my MCC every year and only a couple sets of others, I am more comfortable doing it the old fashioned way.

I guess if I dig down deep, I can relate. I don't use Siri, Alexa or any of those voice-operated dealies. Won't use them is more like it! Maybe eventually I'll break down but right now I can't see it happening. I know they can supposedly make certain tasks easier technically speaking but fuckin' shit I am super old-fashioned. If I want to hear a certain Zeppelin track or whatever I prefer to do it the way it has been done for eons past: I pull out the phone out my pocket and tap and swipe until I find it.

So last week i pulled the trigger on a new driver. It's the first actually NEW driver I've had in a long time. I didn't really get to test it much, some swings with a few different drivers at the PGA Superstore, but i'm a TaylorMade guy when it comes to woods.. I trust them, and know i can hit them. Plus there's some familiarity.

So I've been using an R1 from ebay for few years, with a custom Matrix shaft. I've had a sneaking suspicion that the shaft was too much for me. When i'm on, the driver is great, but when the wheels come off i can't get them back. It was very hot and cold for me and finally got in my head. So, i bought a 2017 M1 with their stock mid-launch shaft. I was so pumped to get it out this weekend. I got to the course early with both clubs, ready to compare and adjust, and just take my time. Of course, range closed. I chipped around for a while, then just launched 4 shag balls (from my bag) into the range with the new club, and went to the first tee. The 4 balls felt good enough.

For the 18 holes i played, i hit some of the best drives I've hit in years. I certainly picked up a few yards, and after adjusting for some early pulls, i hit the ball straighter than i ever have. The new drivers are SO forgiving. This one is about 1/2" longer than my previous driver, but it's noticeably lighter and somehow easier to control. Even on toe strikes i the ball is a slight push, straight as an arrow, and longer than expected. This could be the game-changer i've been missing.

I know it's a small sample size, probably 10-12 drives, but this has me pumped to get back out there. I'm reluctant to make any adjustments (it's set to completely neutral), but i can't help but think i can get it dialed in even further.

It's the biggest golf equipment purchase I've made in years, and early returns are making it look well worth it.

I discovered that I lost my 8 iron in my Mizuno set. I contacted the course where I last used it but it wasn't turned in. I played last saturday and used my PING i20's which is my backup irons set but I don't like them as much. I'm thinking of trading in the i20's and get a new set. Something like the Mizuno's. I have the MP-59's and they are awesome. What do y'all think I should look at? Definitely want forged and not a full muscle back but definitely not super game improvement cavities.

Also I guess I'll try to eBay the MP-59's. Or maybe I can get lucky and find replacement 8 iron?
What should I do?